The fact the rate of increase in Earth’s average surface temperature has apparently eased off in recent years is not that surprising, and definitely doesn’t mean we can stop worrying about climate change.

At sites in Oklahoma and Alaska atmospheric CO2 emitted an increasing amount of infrared energy, to the tune of 0.2 Watts per square meter per decade. This increase is about ten percent of the trend from all sources of infrared energy such as clouds and water vapor.